Contracted Marriage with the Rival CEO

‘Stop digging, Miss Hart… or your mother will be next.’ I didn't move for a long time after the line went dead, My legs had gone hollow. My mouth was dry. Somewhere out in the city, my mother was going about her evening completely unaware that someone had just put her name in a threat because of what I had been quietly pulling apart in this office, alone, for six months. Someone knew. That was the part I couldn't get past. Not the frozen accounts, not the creditors, not the investigation unravelling around me all of that I had learned to carry. But someone had been watching close enough to know exactly when to call. And exactly what to say, Changed my routes. Used burner devices. Told no one except Eva. Someone knew anyway. That was when the door opened,I spun around. Lino Decker stepped into the room without knocking, without waiting, without any of the small courtesies that signal a person believes they need permission. He moved with the kind of effortless confidence that only comes from knowing he holds all the cards. Tall, sharp-featured, with piercing grey eyes. His tailored black suit fit him perfectly, broad shoulders, commanding presence. I took one step back before I caught myself. My first thought was: how did he get past security? My second came a half-second later, cold and specific: the threatening call ended three minutes ago. And he is already here. That coincidence hit me like a fist. “Mr. Decker.” My voice came out quieter and shakier than I intended. “What are you doing here?” “I came for you,” he replied, his deep voice smooth, yet direct. My heart slammed against my ribs. I hated how aware I suddenly became of him of the subtle scent of his cologne, the way he seemed to take up all the space in the room, the quiet intensity in his eyes. ‘I don’t understand,’ I whispered. Something shifted in his expression barely, just a tightening around his eyes. ‘I know about the call.’ The room went very quiet. ‘You know about the call,’ I repeated. I didn’t raise my voice. My father taught me that the dangerous questions get asked quietly. ‘Then either you made it. Or you’ve been watching me close enough to know about it in real time. Which one is it, Mr. Decker?’ He didn’t flinch. Not a blink. Not a shift of weight. Just those steady grey eyes on mine. ‘Neither. I have someone monitoring the communications of the people who want you dead. When the call came through, I was already in the building.’ ‘That’s not less frightening, I said. That’s more. I know, he said. It’s supposed to be. He reached inside his jacket and set a thick contract on my desk. Not slid. Set. Like he was placing something down he had been carrying for a long time and had finally decided where it belonged. ‘Sit down, Miss Hart.’ ‘I’d rather stand. ‘Sasha.’ My name in his mouth stopped me. ‘You’re about to fall over.’ I leaned against the table. I hated that he was right. ‘Marry me.’ His tone was calm the way a verdict is calm. ‘Eighteen months. In public, you’re my wife. We merge the shares, I kill the hostile takeover, and you and your mother get full protection.’ He paused. ‘In return, you get everything I have on your father’s murder. Every file. Every name. Every lead.’ Lino took one deliberate step closer. ‘Your company is dying. The people responsible for your father’s death are getting impatient. And you… His grey eyes moved to my mouth for the briefest second before returning to my face. ‘You’re running out of options. Fresh tears stung the corners of my eyes. I blinked them back quickly, embarrassed that this man of all people was seeing me at my weakest. ‘Why do you care?’ My voice was barely steady. I don’t, Lino answered bluntly. ‘Not about the tears. But I need something from you. I stared at the contract like it was a loaded weapon. The room felt too warm. My pulse thundered in my ears. Even though he wasn’t touching me, I could feel the heat radiating from his body. ‘You want me to sell myself to you?’ The words came out steadier than I felt. I met his eyes and held them two long seconds enough that something shifted in his expression. ‘To the son of the family that might have destroyed everything my father worked for? Then the steadiness cracked, and I looked away first. Lino leaned in closer, placing one hand on the table beside my hip. He wasn’t trapping me physically, but the proximity made my breath hitch anyway. ‘I’m offering you survival, Sasha. Power. Real answers.’ His voice dropped low and deliberate, the sound of it doing something to the base of my spine that I immediately despised myself for noticing. All you have to do is belong to me on paper at least for the next eighteen months. My breathing became shallow. I felt trapped, leaning against the table with his overwhelming presence surrounding me. Part of me wanted to push him away. Another small, dangerous part I immediately hated was how close his mouth was to my ear. ‘I’m scared of you,’ I admitted quietly, my voice trembling with raw honesty. ‘I hate you… but I’m so tired of being scared every single day.’ Lino’s jaw tightened. For a brief moment, something dark and heated flickered in his grey eyes. ‘Then stop fighting this alone,’ he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. ‘Sign the contract. Move into my penthouse as soon as you can. Become my wife in public. And I’ll give you everything you need to survive this war.’ I looked down at the contract. My hand trembled so badly when I reached for the pen that I knocked it sideways before I could grip it. I thought about my father’s face on the morning he left for that last meeting. I thought about my mother’s voice on the phone three hours ago, telling me she’d heard sounds outside the house and was probably being paranoid. I thought about six months of careful investigation and what would happen to every lead if I collapsed now. I pressed the pen to the paper. My stomach dropped the moment the ink touched the page a sensation like the floor shifting, like something already done before I’d finished. The scratch of my signature felt too loud in the quiet room. Like a lock turning from the outside. I had just signed my life over to the one man I was never supposed to trust. Lino watched me the entire time, his expression unreadable, his eyes dark with quiet satisfaction. I set the pen down. He picked up the contract, folded it with care, and slid it back inside his jacket. Then he stepped back. The car will be outside in an hour. Pack what you need. Just like that? ‘Just like that. He moved toward the door, then stopped. ‘Sasha.’ I looked up. I didn’t make that call. But I need you to decide quickly whether you can work with someone you’re not sure about. Because if you spend the next eighteen months trying to figure out if I’m the enemy, you’ll never see Daniel coming. He left before I could answer. I stayed leaning against the conference table long after he was gone, heart still racing, mind spinning with what I’d just done. Staring at the place on the paper where my name now lived. The office was quiet. The city hummed distantly below. My phone showed two missed calls from my mother. I didn’t call her back. I wasn’t sure I could speak without falling apart. Because the worst part, the part I pressed down hard and refused to examine was that the only moment in the last six months I had felt anything close to not-alone was the two minutes that man stood so close to me and told me the truth about how bad things were. And the most terrifying part was that a tiny, unwelcome voice inside me wasn’t completely sure, I hated the idea. My phone buzzed. Unknown number. A photo loaded slowly of my mother standing outside our family home, holding a familiar brown envelope. My father’s handwriting on the front. Below the image, one line: Tell her to stop looking. Or we finish what we started with your father. Something colder than fear moved through me. I looked at the door Lino had just walked out of. Then back to the photo. I picked up my phone and dialed. I’m ready,’ I said when he answered. ‘Come now.’